Golf greens speed and contour teaching device

ABSTRACT

The golf green speed and contour teaching device is used to help the golfer learn and understand the green he is about to putt on. Golfers usually take years of practice to become proficient at learning the speed and route the ball will take when struck. He must putt over and over, and over again to familiarize himself with the terrain and the grass to be able to make the correct putt on the ball. The grass heighth, dampness and other factors are not easily understood by the novice, and can make him putt a poor shot. Also, ridges or valleys in the green make contour reading difficult. Many professionals have difficulty even after years of practice. This instrument will speed up the golfer&#39;s learning process and even the amateur can become proficient at putting. This instrument will give him wisdom.

BACKGROUND

[0001] In the game of golf, it has long been known and acknowledged thatputting the ball on the green is a very integral part of the game. Theputting makes up about half of the scoring in the game. Errors, or poorputting, is very damaging to the golfer's score. Many efforts have beenmade to help learn the skill of putting and most of these efforts havebeen directed to the golfer's swing, follow through, and gentle touchput on the putter when putting the ball across the green. There havebeen numerous aids or devices developed for the golfer to learn how toputt successfully. Putting pads (simulating greens), mirrors, laserbeams, restricting boxes, arm straps, and numerous other innovationshave been tried and have met with some success (action on the putter).The experienced golfer has difficulty at times reading these routesexactly. The experienced and professional golfers take years to learnthe geographic and mathematical knowledge for this skill.

[0002] Teaching devices helped the golfer learn the putting stroke.However, if the golfer can stroke the ball perfectly he must also beable to determine the speed the ball needs to move and the route ittakes to reach the hole. This must be read as a straight line and thecontour of the land it must travel taken into account and evaluated.This takes skill and knowledge combined. This means he must read theundulations, slopes, downhill and uphill contours the ball will travelto reach the hole. If this is not determined correctly or “read”properly there is a good probability that the shot will be missed eventhough the golfer had the perfect swing pattern. As mentioned above thespeed of the ball is also very important. The ball must have themomentum to get to the hole and yet if it has too much momentum or speedit may pass far beyond the hole even if the path is correct. It may passover the hole and beyond the hole a long distance requiring anothercontour evaluation and another shot.

[0003] The speed of the green is determined by a variety and asurprisingly number of factors. The heighth of the grass, dampness,grass type, cutting of the grass, amount of wear, wind, etc all affectthe speed of the green. The official speed of the green has beendetermined and given a number grade by using a Stimpmeter. Thisinstrument was developed by Mr. Stimp in 1937 in England. It is stillused today and considered the “standard” method.

[0004] These Stimpmeters are used by the large golf courses and theirgreens graded. They are expensive and smaller golf courses do not havethese determinations. They are large and cumbersome and the generalpublic does not have access to these unless they purchase the stimpmeterpersonally. It is for these reasons I have developed the followingdevice for the average golfer. I feel it would be beneficial to help thegolfer learn to read the greens. It is to be used only as a learningdevice and not used in a game.

SUMMARY

[0005] The putting portion of the game of golf accounts for half or moreof the score. The winner of the golf game is the golfer with the lowestscore. Since putting is so important and makes up such a large portionof the final score, the golfer must be a good at putting the ball inorder to compete. No efforts have been made to give the putter methodsto improve his ability to read the greens.

[0006] This new invention is presented and will be a good teaching wayto speed up his learning process for reading the greens speed andcontour. A tubular device that has a spring loaded plunger or piston topropell the ball out of the opposite end of the tube in a straight line.The plunger or piston has different stops where the tension of thespring is changed to allow different speeds and distances the ball willtravel. Between 5 and 10 stops have been suggested for differentdistances and the first 2-3 stops can be used as a stimpmeter which willhelp determine the speed of each green.

[0007] The distance the ball travels is in a straight line and is alwaysthe same distance which is usually more accurate than the golfer's putt.

[0008] Since it will always travel in the same direction, and the samespeed, it can be used to check where the ball should move to gauge thecontour and the speed to the hole. This will help the golfer to decidewhere to shoot the the ball. If wrong in his evaluation then he canrethink the shot and then try again. If this is not correct, again hisknowledge will improve, and he can study the shot and learn by hismistakes. The device will help him learn both the speed the ball shouldtravel and the route it should take with the contours of the greennoted.

[0009] The device has a laser beam mounted on the front and top to helpwith the determination of the area to shoot the ball for the contour andspeed. The device can store or carry one or more golf balls which willdrop into place for shooting to the designated spot. The device is smallenough to fit into the golf bag for carrying it easily to other coursesand greens. The propelling plunger or pusher could also be motorized anda small motor used to actuate the plunger. The motor could be batteryoperated or electrically operated if desired. The trigger for theplunger could also be electrical (AC or DC) and the different positionsfor the plunger movement and placing the ball into the chamber fordischarge can all be electrically connected. The simple method of usingsprings is felt to be a much easier and less complicated. The mainaction of a plunger propelling the ball out the end of the chamber likea bullet from the end of the gun is the basic idea for the invention.

[0010] In preparation, evaluation and studying the exact putting shotthat is to be made, the golfer is only human and may make a mistake inputting the ball and it may travel in the wrong direction or be thewrong speed. He then does not know if his read of the green was correctand he struck the ball improperly or he did not read the greencorrectly. With this device it takes out the possibility of hitting theball wrongly and just tells him if his read was accurate and correct. Hecan then determine where he made the mistake and correct it, learningfrom the mistake. This will help him in the game when faced with thesame or similar shot. Using the device on several greens and atdifferent positions will give the golfer a very good knowledge of whereand how hard to strike the ball. This should greatly improve his gamescore.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a cross-section of the device showing it's insideworking actions plus the addition of the outside trigger and ballrestrictive parts.

[0012]FIG. 2 thru FIG. 7 shows the laser beam conponent with it'shousing in several views.

[0013]FIG. 8 shows the ball retension mechanism limiting the ball in thereserve area.

[0014]FIG. 9 shows the ball retension mechanism released to allow theball to move into the expulsion position in the discharge chamber.

[0015]FIG. 10 depicts a side view of the trigger method used.

[0016]FIG. 11 shows the chamber frontal view with the trigger mechanismworking on the inside cylinder to indicate it's action there.

[0017]FIG. 12 a cross-section of the housing for the plunger power drivearrangement.

[0018]FIG. 13 shows the power plunger and control lever along with thespring in place.

[0019]FIG. 14 this indicates the power driving plunger in the housing.

[0020]FIG. 15 this demonstrates the power plunger in a coiled anddriving position.

[0021]FIG. 16 this shows the housing for the trigger mechanism and slotpositions for the ball retaining rod.

[0022]FIG. 17 this shows the inside cylinder which moves and causes therelease of the driver and the ball release mechanisms.

[0023]FIG. 18 depicts a cross-section of the outer cylinder with someslot locations for actions to occur.

[0024]FIG. 19 shows a cross-section of the inner cylinder with a screwand rod in place.

[0025]FIG. 20 shows a cross-section of the action mechanism of the innercylinder working on the outer cylinder to acdtuate the ball retensionrelease and return with the spring causing the return.

[0026]FIG. 21 indicates the action of the ball retension mechanism andthe spring returning the cylinder to it's original position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] The device presented here is simply a cylinder holding a golfball to allow a spring activated plunger to strike the ball. Thispropells the ball out the end of the chamber, similiar to a bullet outthe end of a barrel of a gun. A prototype is seen in FIG. 1 whichdemonstrates howe the ball is thrust out the end by the plunger ordriver represented by 1G. There is also a laser light 1A that isattached to the top of the device or handle at 1B. This will helpdetermine if his evaluation of the surface and the distance was correct.

[0028] The distance the ball will travel is determined by the powerlever, 1C, and different speeds are made by compressing the drive powerspring to different compressions. The spring is represented by 1K. It iscompressed against a buttress, 1M, which is stationary and stable. Thestronger the compression, the longer distance the ball will travel. Thegraduated slots on the body will give accurate distance determinations.The plunger is controlled by the power lever, 1C, which the golferplaces into the desired slot position, 1N.

[0029] The ball falls into the discharge cylinder, 1P, and goes to adesignated position there. This is done by a base triangular block, 1N,which will not allow the ball to move back any further in the cylinderthan the block will allow. The forward motion is limited by arestrictive rod, 1J, which is mobile and can be moved out of theposition whenever the trigger to release the plunger is activated. Thisthen releaves the forward motion obstacle and allows free unimpeddedball rolling to occur.

[0030] The trigger designated as 1H is attached to a cylinder 1D whichrotates inside the outside or main cylinder. This inside cylinder whenmoved by the trigger, rotates clockwise and it's edges move the powerlever out of the designated slot on the main cylinder and into the freearea just above the slots. This allows the plunger to thrust forward andstrike the ball. At the same time the cylinder rotates to move the powerlever out of it's slot, it also turns the arm that controls therestrictive rod, 1J, and this turning moves the rod out of the exit areaof the discharge chamber allowing the ball, 1O, to exit unimpeded.

[0031] The reserve chamber, 1R, holds the balls until ready for usage.The extra balls are placed in the top, pass through a spring lock pin 1Land into the storage area. The spring acts as an open safety pin wouldby allowing compression and entrance but will not open up any more toallow the balls to come back out. This is useful when the device islayed onto it's side or turned over. The lower end of the reservechamber has a reserve restriction pin or rod. This is an inflexible rod,1I, that stays in a protruded of locked position until it is manuallyreleased. When this occurs a spring located just outside the chamber isattached to the neck of the ring and the chamber wall. When it isexpanded to release the ball by pulling the rod back out of the reservearea, the spring quickly returns the rod to it's “in canal” and restingposition.

[0032] At the rear end of the device and located inside the triggercylinder is a spring represented by 1Q and it returns the triggercylinder to it's original and resting position. When this occurs the rod1J at the other end is restricting the forward golf ball movement is inthe position of locking the exit and preventing ball movement forward.The trigger cylinder does this at the position 1K where it acts on theone piece rod moving here which thereby moves the other end of the rodout of the canal.

[0033] In FIG. 8 the ball reserve mechanism is noted. There is the pullring, 8B, attached to the rod 8D in which a portion of the rod passesinto the reserve chamber 8A preventing the ball 8E from falling into thedischarge chamber. Also, is noted the restrictive spring 8C which holdsthe bolt or rod in the chamber at all times except when it is manuallypulled out of the area.

[0034] The FIG. 9 shows an expanded spring at 9C allowing the rod 9D tobe pulled completely out of the chamber 9A and thereby allowing the ball9E to fall in the discharge chamber. The pull ring will then be releasedand the rod go back into the chamber to restrict the next ball fromdropping down any further.

[0035] In FIG. 10 the trigger 10A is seen attached to the body of thereserve chamber 10D and also attached to 10C the inside cylinder whichcontrols the action on the power lever and the rod restrictor in thedischarge chamber. The trigger 10A has a hinge in it's middle to allowfor easy upward pull and release any tightness of tension with themovement on the cylinder below it.

[0036]FIG. 11F is a view of the front of the reserve chamber and thedischarge chamber 11C. Slso the back trigger cylinder 11D is seen withthe control attachment 11E seen as a bolt attachment. There is an openslot 11B in the outer discharge cylinder 11C to allow for the action andmovement of the trigger cylinder. There are also the attachments of thetrigger 11A which are 11H screw fixation to the chamber and 11G screwconnection of the two arms making up the trigger. Here the upward motionof manually pulling up the trigger will cause the inner cylinder toupward and with it's connections to the power lever and the ballrestrictor rod release these to allow the plunger to strike the ball andthrust it out the end of the cylinder.

[0037]FIG. 12B is a cross-section of the main cylinder of the devicewith an opening at 12A for the power leve and noted is 12C which is adisc like restriction solidly attached to the wall for a buttress forthe main power spring and to support the central drive shaft for thedriving plunger.

[0038]FIG. 13A illustrates the upright lever which is attached 13B tothe drive shaft represented as 13D. The main power spring 13C isattached to the power head at 13E. As is demonstrated the spring whencompressed by 13A will, when released, cause the plunger to moveoutwardly. How fast the plunger moves out is dependent upon thecompression of the spring. The driver head 13E must stay in thedischarge chamber while it is further stabilized by the buttress openingthe shaft of the driver passes through. This helps for the driver andshaft to be well aligned when the action is initiated. This is seen wellin FIG. 14 where the components are all aligned and the connectionsdemonstrated. The Head driver 14E is connected to 14F which is connectedto the control lever 14A. The central buttress 14C helps stabilize theshaft 14F and provide the base for the spring 14D to work against. Thespring 14D is attached to the head 14E further preventing the head fromgoing any further forward but this is also controlled by the buttressand control lever in the rear.

[0039] In FIG. 15 the compressed and loaded position is demonstrated.This shows how 15A, the power lever, has pulled the plunger back to theback ower position 15D and the shaft 15F has slid through the buttressdisc 15E and this compressed 15G the spring pulling 15H into theposition for striking the ball. The release of this will occur when thetrigger is pulled upward on the trigger cylinder which pushes the powerlever out of it's slot position, releasing the compressed spring.

[0040]FIG. 16 shows the slot positions 16B and the other positions ofthe body cylinder that have been cut out for different actions to occur.The slot 16D allows for the trigger action and slots 16C and 16E are forthe ball restrictive rod on the right side of the instrument. Theseslots allow for the inside cylinder to move the action connections andmake the necessary releases to occur.

[0041]FIG. 18 shows the outer cylinder with the cut outs made as 18B and18C. This cross-section of 18A the large cylinder is to show how theinner trigger cylinder in FIG. 19C which has a screw and a bolt thatwill work outside components can complete the motions.

[0042]FIG. 20 is used to demonstrate just how the ball restrictor rodoccurs. It shows how the inside cylinder stays in one position at alltimes using the inside spring shown as 20H. This spring is attached tothe inside cylinder which is movable, and to the outside unmovablecylinder to hold the movable cylinder in a constant resting position.When the cylinder is manually moved it will readily return to theoriginal position by the spring action. The spring can be either acompressed spring or an expanded spring. Also demonstrated in FIG. 20 isthe rod action restricting the ball's exit from the discharge chamber.The inner cylinder 20B moves the one piece rod which is encased in acylinder 20D on the outside cylinder and is firmly attached to it andallows the rod to rotate accurately and smoothly whenever action occurs.The rear end 20E is protruding into a small hole 20G in the cylinder20B. When the trigger cylinder moves, it moves the rod end and this inturn turns the whole rod which turns the end restriction rod. As the rodis moved more, the restrictive rod is moved and eventually moves out ofthe canal blocking the ball's exit. The is demonstrated in the FIG. 21which shows the location of the restrictive rod 21E steadily held by 21Dand connected to 21C the restrictive rod. Opening 21F is for the exitand entrance of the restictive rod and 21G is for the cylinder action tocause the movement of the rod. Again shown in the 21H is the spring tothe trigger cylinder to maintain it's closed position.

[0043] The drawings try to demonstrate all the actions put forth forthis invention. Other materials such as aluminum or different plasticswhich could also be used. Even a small motor using batteries orelectricity could be used in this device. The device can, and was, madewithout the reserve ball shute or chamber. It is less weight but was nota convienent. You ususally had to carry the extra balls and this wasinconvenient. The laser-beam can also be excluded, but the device wasnot felt to be as accurate without it.

I claim:
 1. A golf putting teaching guide for usage by professional andamateur golfers.
 2. An instrument with a spring loaded driver to propellthe golf ball out and onto the green. It may be only one distance or itmay be for varied distances.
 3. A device with an inner cylinder that isthe trigger that releases both the driver head and the ball restrictionrod either simultaneously or almost simultaneously.
 4. A device that hasa reserve chamber for extra or reserve balls for usage.
 5. An inventionthat is used for studying and learning the movement that ball will takeon different terrains and grasses.
 6. A device that helps the golferstudy the speed the ball travels over the green involved and helps thegolfer learn the green speed needed to putt the ball on that type ofgreen.
 7. A device that helps the golfer study the ridges, valleys, anddifferent contours of the green and thereby uses this information in theactual golf game.
 8. A device that has a movable inside cylinder used asa trigger that is held in place of resting by a spring. The spring ismanually stretched or compressed to allow activation of the driver andrestrictive ball rod and cause the expulsion of ball out the end of thechamber. After this occurs the spring returns the cylinder to it'soriginal position.
 9. A unit utilizing a laser light for correctalignment of the golf ball shot.
 10. A mobile golf instrument that canbe activated by using springs or a small motor, either battery orelectric powered to discharge the ball from the end of the unit.
 11. Areserve unit located on the instrument which holds balls in reserve byusing a retractable rod in one end of the chamber and a one-way springin the opposite end.
 12. An instrument the golfer can use to provide himwith knowledge about the speed and contours of greens.